To learn about some of the benefits of Google Classroom, see the following article: Benefits of Google Classroom

Creating a Class

To create a new class, you must be on the Google Classroom homepage. Access the homepage by clicking on the three lines icon on the upper left corner and selecting "Classes". Then click on the plus icon on the top right, and choose "Create class". Enter the name of the class, along with its section (period), subject, and room, then click "Create".

Accessing and Switching Classes

The classroom homepage displays all your classes. Switch classes by clicking on the three lines and choosing a new class from the pop-up. To reorder the classes, click on the three dots and select "Move", or drag and drop into the location of choice.

Changing the Class Theme

When on the Stream tab of a class page, you can change the theme by selecting "Select theme" on the bottom right of the class banner. This will pull up a gallery of default themes that you can choose from. If you want to create a custom theme, select "Upload photo" on the bottom right of the class banner, then upload an image from your computer.

Have Students Join Your Class

From the People page in a class, teachers can manually add students. Alternatively, from the Class header, teachers can display the code for students to add themselves to your class. This code can be copied and sent to students, which they can enter to be enrolled in your class.

Creating an Announcement

Announcements are a way for the teacher to pass on important information to the students. On the Stream tab, click on the box below the class banner that says "Share something with your class...". If you have multiple classes, you can choose which classes to post the announcement to. This is useful if you have multiple sections of the same class. You can choose which students will see the announcement (all of them, or individual students). You can add attachments, such as a Google Drive document, a link to a website, a file from your computer, or a YouTube video, by clicking on the "Add" button on the bottom left. (For more information on adding attachments, see the attached in-depth PDF.) 

Once you have typed your announcement, you can post it by clicking the "Post" button, or click on the arrow to the right of the button to schedule the announcement to be sent out at a certain time, or to save it as a draft.

Creating Assignments

In the Classwork tab, you will create assignments and post questions for your students.

Click on the Create button to start making an assignment. There are a number of different types of assignments you can make:

• Assignment: Any classroom you need to share with students, and assignments you need them to turn in.
• Quiz Assignment: A Google Forms quiz.
• Question: Ask a short answer or multiple choice question.
• Material: Post resource materials, such as class rules, syllabus, etc.
• Reuse post: Prevents you from starting from scratch by selecting a post that you have already created and changing the information, if needed.
• Topic: Create topics so that the posts are sectioned accordingly.

When creating an assignment, quiz assignment, or question, first name the assignment, then enter its instructions. You can add attachments, such as a Google Drive document, a link to a website, a file from your computer, or a YouTube video, by clicking the "Add" button. (For more information on adding attachments, see the attached in-depth PDF.) You can also make a new Google Doc, Slide, Sheet, Drawing, or Form by clicking the "Create" button, and this document will be attached to the assignment. 

On the right side of the screen, if you have multiple classes, you can choose which classes to post the assignment to. This is useful if you have multiple sections of the same class. You can choose which students will see the assignment (all of them, or individual students). You can enter the number of points the assignment is worth, the due date, and the assignment's topic. For regular and quiz assignments, you can attach a rubric and automatically check for plagiarism. Quiz assignments will automatically attach a blank Google Form quiz that you can create. If you have already made the quiz, you can attach it to a regular assignment instead.

When creating a question, you can set the question as a short answer or multiple choice question. For short answers, you can choose whether students can reply to each other, and whether they can edit their answer after submitting.

When you have finished making the assignment, click on the "Assign" or "Ask" button on the top right, or click on the arrow to the right of the button to schedule the assignment for a certain time, save it as a draft, or discard the assignment.

Editing an Assignment

To edit an assignment, simply click on the three dots icon to the right of the assignment in the Classroom tab, then choose "Edit".

Organizing Assignments

Here are some ways to organize assignments by topic:

• Organize by Units or Modules - Create topics for each unit and put all of the assignments for that particular unit under that topic 
• Organize by Week - Create a new topic each week and name it “Week 1” or “Week of September 9-13” 
• Organize by type of assignment - ex. “Daily Work,” “Bellringers,” “Projects,” “Quizzes,” “Videos,” etc. 
• Create a “Resources” Topic - Post your Class Rules, Syllabi, Website Link, Textbook Link, Frequently Used Sites, etc. 

Viewing Assignment Details

To view the details of an assignment, simply click on the assignment in the Classroom tab. Here, you can see the number of students that have turned in the assignment and the number of students it has been assigned to. You can also see the assignment's attachments here. You can click the "View assignment" button on the bottom left to see student work.

How Will Students Turn In Assignments?

When students open the assignment in Google Classroom, they will have an option of the right side of the screen where they can add attachments, such as a Google Doc, and mark the assignment as done. If a document was assigned to a student in the assignment, it will automatically appear in this section.

Students can unsubmit work in order to make changes. They must submit again when edits have been made.

Accessing and Reviewing Student Work

In the Classroom tab, click on an assignment, then either click on the number next to "Turned in", or click on the "View assignment" button on the bottom left. This will take you to the "Student work" tab.

Here, you can see the assignments that each student has turned in. Click on the student's attachment to view and grade it.

When viewing a student's work, you can enter a grade, and send a private comment to the student regarding their assignment. You can also highlight a word or phrase in the assignment and click the "Comment" button to comment on a particular part of the assignment. If you start to type on the document, it will provide the green suggestion wording. Once you are done, click the "Return" button on the top right to let the student see their grade and private comments.

Emailing Students

You can easily email students in a class by selecting the People tab while in a class, then selecting the student you want to email, then selecting the three dots icon to the right of the student, then selecting "Email student".

You can email all students, a specific student, all students that have or have not submitted their work, or all students that you have or have not graded.

Viewing the Class Google Calendar

You can easily access the class Google Calendar from the Classwork page. The Google Calendar has all of the assignments listed by due date. If an assignment is not listed, then there is no due date attached to that assignment.

Understanding the Assignment Flow

Here's an example of the assignment flow between a teacher and a student:

1. Teacher creates an assignment with an attached Google Doc.
2. Student edits the copy of the homework and turns it in.
3. Teacher grades the assignment.
4. Student reviews and edits the copy of the homework.

Classroom weaves together Google Docs, Drive, and Gmail so teachers can create and collect assignments paperlessly. Within Classroom, teachers can create an assignment, use it in multiple classes, and choose how students complete the assignment (for example, whether each student receives an individual copy or all students work in the same copy of the assignment). The teacher can track who has completed the assignment and who hasn't, and provide feedback to individual students. 

Both the teacher and students can see a list of pending and completed class assignments. The teacher can see all of the grades for an assignment, and students can see their own grades for completed assignments.

Helpful Links

• 60 Ways Math Teachers Can Use Google Classroom
• Google Classroom: Using a Writing Journal

More information

• See the attached in-depth PDF